Once Upon a Song
by Lady of the Witty Remarks
Summary: Scenes of different characters lives hilighted by songs. K  just in case. If any one chapter is different, I'll say so at the beginning.
1. September

**(A/N) Hello all! I am doing these songfics mostly because they are what I think of every time I listen to each song. There WILL be more than one, but there probably won't be regular updates or anything like, and they will all be able to stand alone, though they will also (sort of) work together. Most of them will be shown with a sort of… prompt… using a machine I've invented (in my head, not in real life) that takes a question and answers it with a song. The machine CANNOT LIE. Without further ado, I give you **_**September**_

Disclaimer: I own neither the characters nor the songs. I am only saying this once. However, I WILL write the name of the artist at the end of every fic.

Albus Dumbledore turned on the small machine. It projected lyrics and memories up onto a screen for all to see.

"This is the Song Machine," Dumbledore explained. "Someone comes and stands on this platform-" he gestured to the small stand, "- and we ask the machine a question about the person standing here. The machine answers the question with a song. Who will be first?"

"Sirius Black and Remus Lupin!" Fudge said loudly. Sirius and Remus walked slowly and warily up to the machine, giving it a dubious look as he climbed onto the platform.

"What is your question?" the machine asked in a robotic – though still distinctly, pleasantly, feminine – voice.

"How do Black and Lupin truly feel about the deaths of the Potters?" Fudge asked in a pompous voice. Sirius winced. This was going to be depressing…

_September_

_How the time passed away, all the trouble that we gave  
>And all those days we spent out by the lake<em>

Four boys skidded to a halt on the shore of the lake, panting, out of breath, but all laughing exhilaratedly.

"That. Was. _Wicked!" _a boy with dark, messy hair laughed. "Did you see Minnie's face?"

"Merlin, she was furious!" another boy said with a grin, his longer black hair framing his handsome face.

"Of course she was," the sandy-haired boy laughed. "We turned her hair bright pink!"

"Well, maybe she shouldn't have yelled at us for the whole Snape thing," the messy-haired boy argued. "I mean, I figured we'd be doing the school a favour if we washed his hair."

The four boys dissolved into laugher again, sinking down next to a tall tree and shoving each other around.

The memory faded into lyrics once more.

_Has it all gone to waste? All the promises we made_

The same four boys sat beneath the same tall tree.

"We, as Marauders, promise to always be there for each other, through thick and thin, for the rest of our lives. Whether they be long or short, we will live them together, never separating. We promise to protect each other and to love each other. We promise to be the four best friends this whole world has ever seen. We, the Marauders, promise that no matter what happens, we will always be brothers."

Each boy picked up a sharp knife and slit their hand with it. They put their palms together and let the blood mix together.

"Brothers," they all repeated together.

_One by one they vanish just the same  
><em>

Peter Pettigrew stood in front of Voldemort, his head bowed, trembling from head to foot as he recited the address of the Potters in Godric's Hollow.

James Potter lay dead and motionless on the floor, Sirius Black dissolving into tears of agony beside him.

"You deserve to die, Pettigrew," Sirius growled from where he stood, pointing his wand at the traitor.

"James and Lily, Sirius, how could you?" Pettigrew yelled in a tearful voice, but his face was anything but sad. He was smirking. He pointed his wand behind his back and the street blew up.

"You won't be telling, Sirius," the man muttered, just loud enough for Sirius to hear, before shrinking into a rat and running into the sewers.

Sirius began to laugh, a cold, deranged laugh. But as Aurors arrived, the camera zoomed in on his face, and two thin lines on his face were glistening as the anguished, hopeless tears cascaded down his cheeks.

_Of all the things I still remember  
>Summer's never looked the same<br>The years go by and time just seems to fly  
>But the memories remain<em>

"You remember that time we dyed Snape's clothes neon orange?" Remus laughed.

Sirius' eyes narrowed in concentration. "No, I-I don't…"

"How could you not remember? That was your favourite prank!"

"Azkaban," Sirius said bitterly, and Remus' expression darkened.

"Merlin, look at him," Sirius whispered to Remus as Harry climbed the stairs of Grimm auld Place. "It seems like just yesterday he was a little baby, stealing James' glasses and chewing on Lily's fingers."

"Time flies," Remus said, shaking his head sadly as the boy disappeared from sight. "But we'll always remember."__

_In the middle of September we'd still play out in the rain  
>Nothing to lose but everything to gain<em>

Lily Potter shook her head as she watched her 20-year-old boyfriend and his idiot pals spinning around the muddy yard, the pouring rain soaking them to the skin. Soon, they started a mud fight. Lily smiled indulgently and looked down to her bulging stomach. She patted it gently.

"Promise me, Harry, that you won't be as big an idiot as your father and godfather are. Please."

_Reflecting now on how things could've been  
>It was worth it in the end<br>_

Lily sobbed into James's shoulder as they sat inside the church. They were waiting for the beginning of what was obviously going to be a funeral. Sirius Black sat down on one side of them, Remus Lupin on the other.

"Why him?" Sirius murmured, his voice thick with tears.

Everyone in the Great Hall glanced around at each other, confused. What was going on in this memory? What would have made James and Lily Potter's deaths worth it?

_Now it all seems so clear, there's nothing left to fear  
>So we made our way by finding what was real<em>

_Now the days are so long that summer's moving on  
>We reach for something that's already gone, yeah<br>_

"Hey, Harry!" Sirius said cheerfully, sitting down next to his godson in the living room of Grimmauld Place. He casually threw his arm around Harry's shoulder, but was disappointed and slightly hurt when Harry cringed out from under the contact. "So, how's life?"

"Fine, I guess…" Harry said slowly, looking in confusion at his godfather.

"That's good!" Sirius grinned. "What are you up to today?" he poked Harry playfully in the side – the place where Harry had been ticklish as a baby. Harry merely flinched and stood up.

"I've- I've just remembered… I, um, have Transfiguration homework to do." And without another word, Harry ran up the stairs.

Sirius frowned, hurt. He knew for a fact that Harry had finished his homework; Hermione had just been praising him for it this morning.

"That was a rather short conversation," Remus said lightly from the doorway.

Sirius sighed. "He just seems so depressed. He was such a happy, playful baby. Why can't I find that kid in him somewhere?"

Remus' eyes travelled to the ceiling, as though he could see Harry through it. "I think the Dursleys – and this war – have gotten rid of that kid. Permanently."

Sirius sighed again. "I miss that kid."

Remus looked at him. "Me too, Siri. Me too."

_Of all the things I still remember  
>Summer's never looked the same<br>The years go by and time just seems to fly  
>But the memories remain<em>

_In the middle of September we'd still play out in the rain  
>Nothing to lose but everything to gain<br>Reflecting now on how things could've been  
>It was worth it in the end<em>

And now the mourners were walking through the cemetery next to the small church, towards a small, recently dug grave. Lily was still sobbing, and all three men were in tears.__

_We knew we had to leave this town  
>But we never knew when and we never knew how<br>We would end up here the way we are  
>Yeah, we knew we had to leave this town<br>But we never knew when and we never knew how_

The four Marauders sat on a bench outside Honeydukes, happily munching away on their candy. Suddenly, Remus looked up from his chocolate to stare at the other three boys.

"I've just realised – this is our last Hogsmeade visit. We're graduating next month."

The other three looked around sadly. "What are we going to do? I don't know how to function without Hogwarts!" James was teasing, but there was really worry in his voice, too.

Sirius sighed. "Well, we don't have to leave for another month. James, we already know you and Lily are moving in together, and Remus and I are going to share a flat. We're going to join the Order, and that will be that. We'll worry about our futures when we get to them."

"Sounds good to me," James said with a grin. He flipped his chocolate bar over in his hand and rubbed the melty part over Sirius' face.

"HEY!

__

_Of all the things I still remember  
>Summer's never looked the same<br>The years go by and time just seems to fly  
>But the memories remain<em>

_In the middle of September we'd still play out in the rain  
>Nothing to lose but everything to gain<br>Reflecting now on how things could've been  
>It was worth it in the end<em>

The mourners watched as a tiny coffin was lowered into the hole and covered in earth. People began to leave, patting Lily and James on the shoulders as they did so. When only the four of them –Remus, Sirius, James, and Lily – were left, the focus shifted to the tombstone. What it said made the breath of everyone in the hall catch.

_Harry James Potter_

_1980-1981_

"_An Angel in the book of life wrote down my baby's birth. And __  
><em>_whispered as she closed the book "too beautiful for earth."_

The music ended, and everyone was silent. They knew, now, why James and Lily's death was worth it. If they would have lived… Harry wouldn't have. But it was obvious that Sirius and Remus were still, after 14 years, grieving the loss of their two best friends.

**(A/N) This song is done by Daughtry. **

** Who guessed why "it was worth it in the end" before I told you? You get treacle tart points! Also, anyone who wants to request a song, just tell me the title and I'll look it up on YouTube. But that doesn't necessarily mean I'll use it. I'll put another chapter up as soon as I get my first review. I will also update… maybe once a week? For a while anyway. I can't promise it'll always be like that. Anyways, Happy reading!**

**PS: you see that little blue link down there? Click it, type some stuff, and you get even more treacle tart points! Yay!**_**  
><strong>_


	2. Outside Looking In

"Who is next?" Dumbledore asked.

"Potter," Snape drawled. Harry walked toward the platform, extremely nervous. This thing never lied. What if Snape asked something embarrassing? Did Snape ever hesitate to embarrass him?

"What is your question?" the machine asked.

"Show us Potter's perfect childhood," Snape sneered.

_Leave it to Snape to ask the one question my mind is begging him not to._

_You don't know my name._

_You don't know anything about me._

_I try to play nice,_

_I wanna be in your game._

"Who is that?" a kid asked. She was obviously new. She was pointing at a small kid with messy black hair. He was sitting next to a tree, his head hung low. His clothes were several sizes too large for him.

"Oh," another girl said. "That's the freak kid. He always dresses like that, and his glasses are always broken."

"What's his name?" the new girl asked.

"Potter."

"What's his first name?" the rest of the class exchanged a glance.

"We don't really know. All we know is that you can't be nice to him, or even talk nice about him, or else you make Dudley and his gang angry. And you do _not _want to make Dudley and his gang angry."

The kids were now picking teams to play a game of football. The class had an odd number today because Gracie Hampson was absent. Soon only Harry was left, looking at the two teams with a childlike hope shining in his eyes.

"Well, the teams are even now. That's everyone," one of the team leaders said.

"But- but what about me?" Harry asked quietly, shyly.

"We don't want _you _on our teams. We only ever pick you if we have to. We don't want to play with you."

"But I'm really fast," Harry tried half-heartedly.

"Bug off, freak," one of the bigger boys said, and he shoved Harry to the ground before the two teams jogged to the field to get ready.

_The things that you say._

_You may think I never hear about them_

_But word travels fast, I'm telling you to your face_

_I'm standing here behind your back_

"That Potter kid is such a freak!" said ten-year-old Gracie Hampson. "And he's so ugly!"

"Plus his clothes are all gross and stained!" another girl agreed.

"I've got an idea," said a third girl. "You know how we're supposed to get everyone valentines on Valentine's Day? Well, let's not get him any. Tell everyone else not to either. He's too stupid and freaky to get valentines."

The girls walked away laughing, still insulting Harry.

Harry, who was standing, dejected, around the corner. He had heard every word.

_You don't know how it feels_

_To be outside the crowd_

_You don't know what it's like_

_To feel left out_

_And you don't know how it feels_

_To be your own best friend_

_On the outside looking in_

Harry, eight years old, sat on the steps to the school, watching his classmates run and play. He knew they didn't want him, so he didn't bother trying to join in. He just watched. He watched as two boys – best friends – talked not ten feet in front of him. He wished he had that.

But who would ever want to be friends with a freak like him?

_If you could read my mind_

_You might see more of me than meets the eye_

_And you've been all wrong_

_Not who you think I am_

_You've never given me a chance_

"It's sad, Linda," Harry's teacher, Mrs. Brandy, was telling another teacher. "The Potter kid, he's so unintelligent. He's in Third Year and can barely add yet. I doubt he has a mind for thinking. He's definitely a lower level student, just as his notes from other teachers always say. And he's a chronic liar! Always wrecking things in the classroom and then telling me his cousin did it. Now, Dudley may be overweight, but he'd never break a rule like that-" Harry left his teacher's room. Maybe he shouldn't tell anyone after all.

Later that year, Harry was sitting in Dudley's spare room, reading _Romeo and Juliet. _He decided he didn't like the characters that much. They were all killing each other, just because of their last names. He put it back on the shelf and got out a book of science project ideas instead. He'd do one of the experiments while the Dursleys were out some day.

Harry Potter was very smart, indeed…

_You don't know how it feels _

_To be outside the crowd_

_You don't know what it's like_

_To be left out_

_And you don't know how it feels_

_To be your own best friend_

_On the outside looking in_

_Oh I'm tired of staying at home_

_I'm bored and all alone_

_I'm sick of wasting all my time._

"Mum, I'm goin' out with Peirs!" Dudley shouted. Harry wished _he _could go outside. He wished _he _had a friend. Instead, he had to sit in his cupboard until dinner, because he'd already finished his chores. He was very, very bored. He felt like a waste of time, a waste of space.

_You don't know how it feels_

_To be outside the crowd_

_You don't know what it's like_

_To be left out_

_And you don't know how it feels_

_To be your own best friend_

_On the outside looking in (2X)_

People were staring at Harry sympathetically. Harry himself was glaring at Snape. He had been trying to hide those things, thank you ever-so-very much.

**(A/N) Outside Looking in by Jordan Pruitt**

**And so ends another song! Reviews are appreciated!**


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